Fostering People Ireland, the non-statutory Dublin-based fostering agency, has announced two upcoming events aimed at recruiting more carers to help the growing number of children in need of care in the capital and the surrounding area. Fostering People Ireland has grown its reputation since its launch in September 2011, but remains in need of qualified, enthusiastic carers. The first event will be held at Maudlin House Hotel in Naas, County Kildare on 23 May 2012 from 4pm - 8pm. The second event will be held on 6 June 2012 at the Premier Inn, Airparks in Swords, County Dublin from 4pm - 8pm. Refreshments will be provided at both events.

The fostering agency based in Dublin is encouraging people from all walks of life to come and talk to their advisors about all things fostering, from qualities needed to become a foster carer to fees and allowances. The events are an ideal opportunity for people to have an informal chat with the agency's foster care experts in order to see if caring would be a good fit for them. Whilst Foster Care Fortnight is in full swing in the UK, Fostering People Ireland is determined to keep the spotlight firmly on addressing the growing need for carers in the Dublin area.

Lesley Dale, Service Manager at Fostering People Ireland, said: "Events like these are crucial in helping people find out whether fostering is right for them. Whether they are able to drop by for a quick chat or stay for a drink to discuss fostering, we can provide the information that can help them make the decision that has the potential to change the lives of children in need. "Fostering People have really made a name for themselves in Ireland as an independent fostering agency with a great network of support for its foster carers. We hope that these events will help us get that message across and convince people that deciding to become a foster carer is life changing."

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Architect of Ireland’s ‘Bad Bank’ Sees Lessons for Spain

The failure of Spanish banks to recognize the extent of their bad loans is preventing them from escaping from their current troubles, said the economist who set up Ireland’s “bad bank” which helped stabilize the Irish banking sector after the property crash. Peter Bacon was hired by the Irish finance ministry in early 2009 to identify the scale of the Irish banking crisis after the worst property-market collapse in the country’s history. In a race against time to shore up international confidence in Irish banks and the nation’s finances, the Irish authorities needed to show international investors they had a grip on the crisis and persuade international debt investors to keep buying Irish government bonds.

Mr. Bacon’s report led the authorities to establish the National Asset Management Agency, or NAMA, the “bad bank” that was designed to cleanse Irish banks of the commercial-property loans that had become toxic as a result of the market’s collapse. In an interview for The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Bacon said other troubled euro-zone nations such as Spain could still draw lessons from Ireland’s banking experience because the lenders have been too slow to put a number on their property loan losses.

“If you look at the drift in Spain, there is currently another attempt to stabilize the base of Spanish banks, and there is no confidence that the solution is at hand,” he said. Mr. Bacon said an asset-management agency along the lines of NAMA still offers the best prospect of removing doubts surrounding Spanish banks. “The principal lesson Spain could draw from Ireland’s experience is that painful as the NAMA outcome is, it is probably better in the longer run than the kind of approach that has been followed by Spain and other countries that has really failed to provide for the losses on banks’ books that resulted from property bubbles,” he said.

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'More urgency' demanded over mortgages crisis

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has called on Ireland’s banks to show a greater urgency in dealing with the mortgage crisis. After a Central Bank report laid bare the growing numbers unable to repay their home loans, Mr Kenny said the arrears problem was now the single biggest issue facing Irish people. But he dismissed allegations from both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin that the Fine Gael/Labour coalition was chronically inactive in dealing with the fall out. Mr Kenny said the Government was being pro-active on a number of solutions, including establishing a Cabinet sub-committee and increasing mortgage interest supplements for those worst hit by the property crash.

It was also working on the personal insolvency bill and had face-to-face meetings with banks on a number of occasions, he told the Dáil. “I would like to think the banks themselves would show a sense of greater urgency in sitting down with the borrowers – in each case different – and work out what is the best solution, so people can hold onto their houses and at the same time not end up in a situation where they won’t be able to meet what is a difficult challenge now,” said Mr Kenny. But Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said a lack of government response was having a debilitating impact on individuals, families and on the wider economy.

“There’s been a clear lack of urgency, a lack of any commitment to radical action, and indeed your whole behaviour and response to the mortgage arrears crisis has been one of chronic inactivity,” he told the Taoiseach. Mr Martin said more than 75,000 homeowners were now unable to pay their mortgage after 90 days, which was more than 10% of homeowners in Ireland. This compared to 2.5% in the UK, he said. Mr Martin added: “Clearly this has been allowed drag on for far too long.” The Fianna Fáil leader said there were also problems with would-be buyers, who have a good credit history, but were not getting mortgages from lenders. Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said no-one would guess the mortgage crisis was single biggest problem facing Irish people judging by the government’s inactivity in tackling it.